|
Cambrian Life Forms The Earth existed in emptiness and silence for billions of years. No creatures were walking around on it, hunting, making noises or eating. The only entities on the planet were bacteria and other single-celled organisms. After millions of years passed with only micro-organisms, small, soft-bodied multi-cellular invertebrates entered the equation.A great activity then began manifesting itself on Earth. A large part of the globe was filled with marine organisms, each one very different from that rest, many of which possessed complex characteristics similar to those of organisms today. These walking, hunting, seeing, feeling creatures dominated the Earth. So different were they from one another that none had the same features as any other. The differences were so great that one could not be categorized with the others. It took a mere 5 million years for this enormous variety to appear. Some of the species then disappeared, leaving only their fossilized remains under the sea. It is a great miracle created by Allah for any organism to leave all its characteristics on a rock. On occasion, an organism that died and was swiftly buried in sand or silt would sometimes leave all its features mineralized, from its digestive system to its nerve endings. Proof of its existence remains in rocks millions of years old. Allah reveals His glorious creation and creative artistry in whatever manner He chooses. He has provided some of the greatest proofs of this flawless artistry in the fossils of Cambrian life forms.
Some Preserved Fossils This section deals with the characteristics of life forms found in Cambrian strata dating back some 530 million years. Latin names are cited in order to provide general information, but the important thing is to demonstrate that the creatures that appeared during this period possessed various complex systems and body parts resembling those of present-day organisms and were sometimes even more specialized. Their remains of around 530 million years ago show that they were created with immaculate details and beauty. They totally undermine the theory of evolution, in allowing us to see what extraordinary entities they were. For people who believe in Almighty Allah, of course, it’s no surprise to see such sophisticated creatures living some 500 million years ago as well as today. Allah, the Omniscient and Almighty, has the power to create them when He wills, in the form He wills and where He wills. Allah reveals it in one of the verses of the Qu’ran:
Another reason for focusing on the existence of these life forms and describing their characteristics is to enable evolutionists, who are astonished by the emergence of such creatures in the Cambrian 500 million years ago, to see the truth and to enlighten others who blindly accept what they may have been taught. No process of evolution ever took place in the history of this planet. All the species we shall be examining appeared with no ancestors behind them and possessed complex forms exhibiting no previous developmental phases. One characteristic of Cambrian fossils is that they’ve been so very well preserved. During fossilization under normal conditions, the hard part of the outer shells, consisting of chitin and calcium, should be decayed or dispersed. Yet in the great majority of specimens collected from Cambrian rocks, the exoskeletons maintain nearly all their original forms, and their owners’ main internal systems can also be seen. Research in various locations has revealed the different features of all Cambrian fossils. Their heads and bodies, and stomachs and intestinal systems consisting of various complex components have all been preserved. Some have four legs, and others a dozen. Some have shells, others antennae and others gills. In short, almost all body features of organisms in existence today, and even more extinct ones, reveal their presence in the Cambrian seas, with all their wide-ranging appearances and gloriously complex features. Some of these fossils include: Marrella Marrella, described as a “lace crab” by Charles Walcott, is one of the most abundant of Burgess Shale fossils. Some 15,000 specimens of Marrella have been collected from Walcott Quarry (named after Walcott) alone. We have a three-dimensional knowledge of just about all this invertebrate’s features. Marrella’s head shield had two pairs of rearward spines that were sufficiently long to extend right along its body. It had two pairs of antennae. One of these was an extension consisting of short segments. The other had a brush-like end. Marrella’s body was composed of increasingly small trunk segments, each of which had a pair of legs. The antennae of this creature, which is thought to have fed on organic matter and small organisms, were probably used to gather up these small elements from the sea floor. The feathery filaments on the outer branch of its legs were used for respiration.71 Canadaspis Canadaspis fossils have been preserved with nearly all their features. The animal’s carapace had two valves literally hinged together. The abdomen, thorax, and intestinal system are completely visible in the specimens. Canadaspis’s legs were divided into two branches. The inner branch was segmented and was used for walking. It ended in small curved claws. The flap-like outer gill branches extended forward of where the abdomen emerged from between the valves. These flap-like extensions were used for locomotion and also for exchanging oxygen. It is thought that it used its feet to dig in the mud in search of organic particles.72 Hallucigenia This creature’s spines make it one of the most interesting Shale Burgess fossils. There were tentacles in various parts of its body. It had spines on bulges on the dorsal side of its body. All these tentacles were joined by a narrow tube to the main gut, which extended right along the trunk. With its exceedingly complex structure, Hallucigenia is one of the best examples of how Cambrian life forms differ from those existing today.
The Hallucigenia specimens found in China led to new and even more interesting characteristics of this creature being discovered. The Chinese Hallucigenia fossils contained armored lobes. As can be seen in the illustration on the next page, Hallucigenia rather resembled a caterpillar with lobe-like appendages and isolated plates on its dorsal surface. Newly identified features confirm that the spines were used for defense. Underneath, it had seven pairs of legs, each ending in a claw.73
Odaraia Odaraia’s structures make it one of the most remarkable Burgess Shale life forms. It had two rather large eyes and two valves meeting along the ventral margin. As an appendage to the abdomen, it had three blades. The animal appears to have been an active swimmer and used its large eyes to seek out smaller organisms for feeding. Odaraia in all likelihood possessed the ability to swim upside down. This way the uneven drag that would otherwise have occurred because of the gap between the valves was minimized. Its appendages provided the power for swimming. The limbs of its head section were small, however there is some evidence of small antennae and a powerful mandible.74
Anomalocaris Anomalocaris, one of the largest Burgess Shale animals, averages 45 to 60 centimeters (17 to 23 inches) in length, although it can sometimes be as long as 1 or even 2 meters (3 to 6.5 feet). Its mouth section resembled a pineapple, and had appendages that helped catch its prey. The largest limbs were attached at the anterior part of the head, and were also probably used for capturing prey. Anomalocaris had teeth in its powerful jaw. The largest known appendages were some 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) in size. It was able to open its jaw in order to admit its prey and possessed various means of drawing its prey into its mouth. Its body was flanked by a series of lobes, which were probably used in swimming.75
Like present-day sharks, Anomalocaris was a hunter perfectly adapted to its surroundings. Scientists have worked hard to determine which phylum the animal can be ascribed to, but finally included Anomalocaris in a phylum of its own.76 Pikaia Pikaia was first described by Walcott as a marine worm. However, because of several of its features, it was included in the phylum Chordata, which also includes vertebrates. The first known Cambrian representative of this phylum, it had a pair of short tentacles on the front. The trunk consisted of solid blocks of muscle, curved in an S shape. The tail expanded in the form of a fin. Pikaia swam just above the sea bed. It propelled itself by using the muscles to undulate its body.77
Opabinia Opabinia is a creature found in the earliest Cambrian rock beds and possesses characteristics very different from other life forms. It had a segmented trunk and a soft shell. There were five eyes on its head. More interestingly, it had a proboscis on its head, which ended in spines. This was probably used for grasping preys.78 Each of the trunk segments had a pair of gills. The hindmost three segments comprised the tail.
Thanks to Opabinia, scientists realized that the soft-bodied Burgess Shale fauna was more complex and diverse than they had previously imagined. Insolicorypha This single fossil specimen from the Burgess Shale formation has been astonishingly well preserved, despite being very tiny. The head part is divided into two sections; both these projections were used for sense perception. The trunk consisted of some 19 segments, and there were three projections on it resembling tentacles. Each of the extensions on Insolicorypha’s body was equipped with 30 to 40 fine hairs. The presence of fan-like hairy extensions on its body shows that the animal must have been an active swimmer. This also explains its rarity, because since active swimmers do not generally live on the sea floor, they may not leave many traces behind. Since it cannot be linked to any present form of life, this creature comprises a family of its own—the Insolicoryphidae.79 71. Derek E. G. Briggs, Douglas H. Erwin, Frederick J. Collier, The Fossils of the Burgess Shale, 1994, Smithsonian Books, pp. 142-143. THE HOLY QUR'AN - SUPPORT US - THE COLLAPSE OF THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION - THE DARK FACE OF DARWINISM Other Sites - Email - Subscribe THIS SITE IS BASED ON THE WORKS OF HARUN YAHYA
|
|---|
